Is the World Fair?

The world is flat, but not fair. Some countries are rich in natural resources. Other countries are rich in human resources. Some people excel in academic performance, others are active on the race tracks. Human beings are not born equal. We have our likes and dislikes. We have our own preferences. No matter how many judges training courses we have attended, we can't avoid bias.

At Division H Humorous Speech Contest Sunday afternoon, October 19th, I felt strongly that I received favoritism from a few judges to be placed as the first runner-up. I didn't perform well, far behind my expectations. Being an emotional person, I was so upset that I couldn't find one of my crystal earrings before my name was called. I became absent-minded and forgot the main paragraph to lead to my message in the speech. I was amazed at the cognitive abilities of judges and audience to follow through my speech. Or they were simply super Toastmasters cheerleaders!

It was a true story about my recent encounter with a direct marketer of health products. She invited me for brunch, took out a weight scale, gave me a health check up, and tied to thrust all beauty and health products to me. I changed HER to HIM and invited Winston Churchill and Lady Astor to open and close my speech about A Responsible Eater to add impact onto a sarcastic scene. But, I made up the last sentence in order to give the speech a good wrap-up, and it was not true (Lady Astor passed away one year before Winston Churchill). I am glad I didn't win, I could stop giving false information. The speech itself is good with a strong message to advocate people on diet to watch the calorie intake on daily basis.

No doubt, I was lucky to be the first runner-up of Humorous Speech Contest and the second runner-up of Evaluation Contest. I didn't feel bad at all about not winning because I was not ready. From now on, I shall set a goal to begin collecting my top ten speeches in my pocket in order to "WIN" at Annual Convention of Toastmasters International. There is an Italian saying, those who walk slow, walk long and far. Why in a hurry, if there is a goal in front of me? So what's next? Of course, District 67 Speech and Tabletopics Contests 2009!